Bogojina, Church of the Ascension

The church in Bogojina is one of the most interesting examples of architecture of the first half of the 20th century and the most famous sanctuary of Prekmurje. It is located on the slope of a rise above the settlement of Bogojina. The new church was built between 1924 and 1927, perpendicularly to the side of the older one-nave Baroque church with a Romanesque base. Beside the old main entrance the artist placed a dominant cylindrical tower, a bell tower with typical Plečnik artistic forms. At the top of the cylinder is a viewing terrace and at its edge there is a small additional tower which appears again at the end of the old church. Above the entrance facade reigns the statue of Christ on a plain column.

The old church is used as the gate area, a kind of a vestibule of the main church hall. The new area is slightly elevated and separated into two asymmetrical naves with a mighty stone pillar removed from the axis carrying four distinctive, expressively effective arches. On the north and south sides the nave area is accented by condensed arcades. A special point of interest is the side altar of St. Joseph.

Jože Plečnik used traditional building principles of a sacral object and reshaped them into something unique with refined values and the addition of materials. The fittings are enriched by creations of folk pottery. The architect designed additional interior fittings in the years 1950-1956. The organs in the church are the work of Josef Angster. By the junction below the church the architect designed a sign which points to the white beauty at the top of the hill.